What the Critics Say

"Hartnett deftly interweaves dark, eerie passages with episodes of domestic realism - either of the banalities of English village life, or of juvenile squabbles at Heron Hall.The result is a sustained ventriloquism. Remarkably, Hartnett has reproduced the tone and voice of a girls' own adventure story from the 1940s and has channelled it through the emotional consciousness of an upper-class pre-teen who's a bit of a ninny. And yet, it works. The Children of the King is a wise and elegant exploration of growing up. If that's ''mere'' children's lit, then I want more." (Jose Borghino, Sydney Morning Herald)